Pages

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Black Bean Burgers

Oh yes! You read that right. I have finally jumped on the bandwagon and tried out a veggie burger. This is a first for me. Don't get me wrong! We love our veggies and have a fair amount of meatless meals. But I've always been a firm believer that burger had to include meat in some form - cheeseburgers, chicken / turkey burgers and even fish burgers.

I still can't figure out how it happened. I think it was the subtle suggestion of seeing veggie burgers pop up in so many places, that one day I decided I had to try them out. I would love to include some more meatless meals in my weekly rotation and was curious to see if this would fit the bill, not as a weekly option, but definitely a regular one.

I was really simple to put together. Since I made my beans from scratch (from dried beans, that is), it did take planning a little ahead of time. But the rest was an absolute breeze. The verdict - We loved it! I don't know why I was so sceptical to begin with. The burger patties cooked up fast and had a light crunchy crust while being tender and nice and flavourful on the inside. These burgers were pretty hearty and I didn't miss the meat at all. I know this will be the first of a few more veggie burgers to come.

If you are using dried beans, wash and drain the water. Soak in fresh water overnight. Cook till done. I pressure cook mine. Place the beans with salt and the recommended amount of water (your pressure cooker manual should give you an idea.) It takes 5 minutes after the pressure has built up in my WMF pressure cooker.

Let the pressure die down before opening the cooker. I leave it for about 10 minutes.

Drain the beans and place them in a shallow bowl.

Mash the beans roughly. You want some of it fully mashed but also some bigger bits and pieces. So a rough mash is perfect.

Shape into patties the size of your burger bun. These patties don't shrink like the meat ones. They hold their shape and size.

Heat some olive oil in a pan over medium heat.

Place the patties in the pan and let it cook till it has browned and crisped up on one side. This takes 4-5 minutes. Flip and cook for another 4-5 minutes till it browns a little and crisps up on the second side as well.

If you are using cheese slices, place the slices on the patties after you've flipped them so that they can get all melty and gooey while the patty cooks on the second side.

Slit the burger buns and lightly toast them on the pan, cut side down.

'

I crumbled my feta cheese into a bowl and used a spoon to mash it up and make it more spreadable.

Assemble your burger with the fixings of your choice. For me it was iceberg lettuce, sliced onion and sliced tomato.

2 comments:

Trish, they look soo appetizing, I generally make my burgers, as you said with the chicken patties, topped with the goodness of cheese, an egg, tomato, mayonnaise, and the works...Would love to try this out..